"Love of neighbor begins with the willingness to be inconvenienced. It means saying yes to God's right to direct people to us based on his objectives and their needs rather than our comfort or convenience."

I read this quote today as I was going through a book Mrs. Udell gave me on Randy White's ministry to inner-city Fresno. It's obviously a bigger city, but the same set-up. His family moved to the lowest income area of Fresno and a new life began. I read this quote and my stomach flipped. This isn't the first time I have been hit with this truth, but rather another reminder that will continue to keep me grounded. It is so hard to find a balance between finding rest and allowing yourself to be inconvenienced and uncomfortable. There is never a reprieve. If people aren't literally knocking at the door, you know you should be out visiting those you haven't seen recently. People always encourage self-sacrificing service while at the same time demanding an understanding of when to say no. I don't know that balance. I have fought and prayed and studied and still cannot find the mental balance to know when it is not being disobedient to say "I'm sorry but I cannot help you right now". This is usually when people say to delegate but the mere act of delegating the responsibility usually takes so much time to find someone willing to be inconvenienced that you either give up and do it yourself or have run out of rest time by the time you do find someone else and must move on to the next thing of the day.

I love the noise of our neighborhood. When it is quiet, it is almost eerie. You can hear everything going on in every home practically from different points in our home. It's an incredible prayer guide, but more than that it is an intense revelation of the beauty that is Christ. How He works in and through our neighborhood comes out in the soundtrack of the streets and homes and lives that compose God's Resort. The moments He gives of quiet rest though are cherished. The moments where you come home and just need a break to regroup and clear your mind to focus on God and He grants those moments.

I love our neighborhood. I love the inconvenience of it all; how it breaks through and shatters the structured, minute by minute plans of everyday americans. You cannot live too organized, too rigid, or it will wear you down quicker than anything known to man I believe. You have to leave your life wide open to be filled by His appointments, no matter how seemingly insignificant. Whether it be tying a shoe, fixing a light, or talking about serious issues, all are important in His eyes. All of these things are vital to His kingdom work. Like the Samaritan that stopped to help, we must be willing to stop. We must be willing to live in a way that stopping is allowed, encouraged, and looked forward to. We have, even in our service oriented Christian lives, bought into the need for security amid structure. Stepping outside of that security requires a step of faith that really reveals how much we are willing to trust God with. What I am beginning to realize though is it is not necessarily one big step, but rather thousands of tiny steps away from what society deems the way to live your life, and how God has called us to live our lives.